Broken Bones
by CJS51703
Summary: Bone diseases work differently for skeleton monsters... (Rating may change.)
1. Chapter 1

*****Hello, everyone! This is the third time that I've had to type this up and I'm getting annoyed with my computer. But hopefully, it will work this time. Anyways, Sans, Papyrus, Frisk, and Toriel belong to Toby Fox, the doctor belongs to me, and let's roll!**

 **Chapter One: Feeling Funny**

Papyrus was usually an early riser. He would get up bright and early, every day, out of habit. Even on the rare occasion that he got sick.

But this time, he woke up and felt achy all over. So, he just laid in bed for maybe ten more minutes before he knew he would either fall back asleep or go crazy from how much he'd begun to hurt.

At last, he forced himself out of bed, stiffness an obstacle. He smoothed out his orange, bone-patterned pajamas and went out of his room. He had to use his gloved (even in his sleep, he wore his gloves and scarf) hand to balance himself against the wall.

He looked into the bedroom next to his. Sans and Toriel were fast asleep together. Papyrus kept walking past them.

"Papyrus?" The voice belonged to Frisk. They were already awake and drawing.

"Oh! Hello and good morning, small human!" Papyrus said brightly. He walked (or rather, limped) into the bedroom.

"What's wrong? Are you sick?" Frisk asked.

"Nonsense! The Great Papyrus is fine and dandy!" Papyrus lied.

"Do you wanna hang out with me? We can draw together. And... you kinda look like you need to sit down," Frisk said.

So, Papyrus limped into Frisk's room and sat down on their bed. He wouldn't say it out loud, but it was a welcome relief to actually sit. "So, what are we drawing?" he asked.

"Whatever you want. I was drawing you, coincidentally," Frisk said.

"Wowie! How very kind of you! Then I will have to draw you in a kind return. Give me some crayons and some paper, take a pose, and the Great Papyrus will make you into a masterpiece!" Papyrus said. He was then given a piece of paper, a box of crayons, and a book to bear down on.

"Make me look nice," Frisk said. They sat cross-legged, fixed their hair a bit, and smiled.

"In the words of Mettaton," Papyrus said, "I will make you fabulous!"

XxX

After a while, Papyrus and Frisk had drawn each other successfully.

"I shall hang it up in my room later!" Papyrus said.

"I think we have some tape downstairs in the kitchen drawer. Wanna go get it now?" Frisk asked.

"Of course," Papyrus said.

Frisk went down the stairs just fine.

Papyrus, however, fell right down the stairs. "Ow..." he whined when he'd hit the bottom.

"Um... Papyrus? Your arm?" Frisk said nervously.

Come to think of it, his lower-left arm did hurt the most.

Well, maybe that was because it was broken clean in half on the right side.

"OH MY GOD! SANS!" Papyrus yelled.

Sans (and Toriel, who'd also been woken up) both came. "Yeah, whazzup?" Then, he saw what was up. "Holy-!" He went down the stairs.

"Come on, Paps. I'll getcha to the ER," he said.

"Be careful with me, my everything hurt," Papyrus said as he was helped up.

"I guess we'll... get that checked out too," Sans said. So, he and Papyrus headed out the door.

Frisk went back to Toriel, leaning into her side. She put her arm around them.

"Do not worry, my child. It is a broken bone. You broke your elbow a few months ago, and you are fine now," she reasoned.

Frisk moved their right arm, recalling the unfortunate incident with the school monkey bars.

"I guess so."

XxX

After getting to the hospital, Papyrus' broken arm was reset (which hurt quite a lot) and put into a cast and sling. He was now sitting on an examination table, trying not to acknowledge the stiffness and soreness of the rest of his body. He already had a broken arm, for Christ's sake!

"Hey, bro. Come over here," Sans said.

Having to use a bit of effort, Papyrus got off of the table and walked over to his older brother, who was now sitting in a chair to the side of the examination room. "What is it?" he asked.

Sans whipped out a permanent marker from his jacket (yes, he'd put it on over his night shirt) pocket. "Bend down. I gotta sign your cast," he said. He knew that it wasn't really an "adult" thing to do, but he saw himself as more of a big kid anyways.

And Papyrus really was a big kid. "Okay! But no puns," he said.

"Wouldn't dream of it. _Tibia_ honest, I was thinking you'd trust me, your _bone_ -ly brother, by now. But I can _cast_ those hopes away now," Sans said, signing his name as he spoke.

"Alright. Your name is short, you shouldn't have this much time to make the Great Papyrus' morning worse than it already had been with this many puns!" Papyrus snapped. He went back to the examination table.

Sans only grinned.

It was then that the doctor came back.

"Hello, boys," she said kindly.

"Hello!" Papyrus said brightly, shooting his good hand up to wave but instantaneously regretting it, letting his entire arm go limp with a wince. When it smacked against the table, both Sans and the doctor jumped. "The Great Papyrus did not anticipate such pain..." Papyrus whimpered.

"Do you think you hurt your other arm in your nasty fall down the stairs that you told me about?" the doctor asked.

"He did say that his everything was hurting," Sans recalled.

"And I'm also stiff and tired and it's no good!" Papyrus added.

The doctor tapped at her cheek. "Come to think of it, I did notice some strangeness in your bone structure before I put you in that cast. I chalked it up to you being a monster-no offense-but since you've mentioned that..." she trailed off.

Papyrus and Sans alike began to get worried. "What?" Papyrus asked. "What's wrong with my brother?" Sans asked, although he was a bit more demanding about it.

The doctor wasn't at all intimidated; rather, she opened the door of the examination room.

"If you'll come with me?"

 *****And... I'm going to have to leave you there. I had to science quite a bit for this chapter, as well as future chapters. Anyways, be sure to leave a review on the way out and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

*****Hello, everyone! Here's to hoping that I only have to type this up one time and not three, like the first chapter. Sans and Papyrus belong to Toby Fox, Dr. Wike belongs to me, and let's roll!**

 **Chapter Two: Your Problem Here Is...**

If it was possible for bones to be pale, then that would've been Papyrus' complexion. He was normally very bouncy and talkative. But now, he was hardly walking and dead silent.

"Ya scared?" Sans asked quietly.

"N... nonsense! The Great Papyrus doesn't get scared!" Papyrus snapped. Despite his words, he looked outright terrified.

"You want me to hold your hand, don't you?" Sans eventually asked.

Papyrus nodded, holding out his good hand. Sans took it, and they resumed walking down the hallway until they reached an x-ray room.

"Alright, sir. I'd normally take an x-ray of a person to check for what I think you have, but you're a skeleton and I can see your bones right now," the doctor said.

"That's true," Papyrus agreed.

The doctor went and grabbed a hospital gown, holding it out. "So, if you could put this on and lay down on that table, I can do an examination and log what I see. I won't look while you change, because if you need help, your friend is here," she said. She handed over the hospital gown and covered her eyes politely.

Sans had to help Papyrus here and there, but he got out of his clothes and into the hospital gown. "Hey, Doc, we're good now," Sans said.

The doctor uncovered her eyes. "You can call me Dr. Wike," she said.

"Okay," Sans shrugged.

Papyrus very slowly laid down on the examination table, as he'd been told to do earlier. "I'm ready," he said.

"Alright," Dr. Wike said. She turned to Sans. "Sir, if you could step outside for a moment?" she requested.

"Check," Sans said. Then, he stepped outside.

Dr. Wike turned back to Papyrus. "So, tell me a bit about yourself," she said as she begun to examine him.

Papyrus managed to smile at that. "Well.."

XxX

Sans was fast asleep, sitting outside of the examination room. He could only stay awake for so long, after all. But, his nap was interrupted when he was shaken awake and a voice said, "Pardon me, but you have to wake up now. I have some questions for you."

He opened his eye sockets and stood up. "And those questions would be?" he asked. Dr. Wike was standing there.

"Papyrus told me quite a lot. Including a lot about you... and that you're the older brother by three years, and you have a good memory," she said.

Sans raised a browbone. "So?" he asked.

"Do you remember if he had any issues with movement or size when he was little? Or if he was born particularly early?" Dr. Wike asked. That went into some touchy subjects.

"He was born pretty early. I don't remember much from the night he was born, but I remember how tiny he was and that some place on his bones looked a bit... funky. I didn't learn it until I was older, but Mom nearly lost her life having him. However, I knew it then that Dad was freaking out. But Paps didn't start walking for a good while. I know that that's the case for every kid, but he too way longer than any other kid," Sans explained.

Dr. Wike jotted that down on her clipboard. "Alright... I'm trying to connect the dots between a human in this case and a skeleton monster in this case. But I believe it all lines up for a diagnosis," she said.

"Great. So what the frick's wrong with him that you had to strip him down and poke him all over?" Sans asked.

Dr. Wike lead him inside.

"Hello, Dr. Wike! Did you ask my brother everything you needed to ask him?" Papyrus asked.

Dr. Wike nodded. "Yes. And I've made a diagnosis that is easier to explain just once. Although it's not life-threatening, I don't want to have to explain it twice," she said.

"It's not life-threatening... that's a relief as it is," Papyrus said.

"Can you just tell me what's wrong with my brother?" Sans sighed.

Dr. Wike nodded. "Alright."

 *****And... that's it for this chapter. Once more, I had to science, and I actually have to science some more because I have a project where I have to get creative like Paige. So, be sure to leave a review on the way out, and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


	3. Chapter 3

*****Hello, everyone! I meant to upload this yesterday, but I didn't. I guess that's why I stand by the accurate claim that I have the memory of a very intelligent goldfish. Anyways, Sans, Papyrus, Toriel, Frisk, and Undyne belong to Toby Fox, Dr. Wike belongs to me, and let's roll!**

 **Chapter Three: Osteo-Huh?**

"I'm sorry, osteo-huh?" Undyne asked the next day.

She and Papyrus were playing Super Mario Maker together of her house. Cooking wasn't the only thing they enjoyed doing together. And Papyrus had mastered the technique of playing platformers games with one hand, his other being on a couch throw pillow so he could rest it.

"Osteomalacia. I have it in my legs and my broken arm," he explained curtly.

"Well, is there some kinda medicine you take for it? Like that gross stuff I had to take when I got really sick that one time?" Undyne asked.

"No. And I wouldn't throw it out the window, like you did with your medicine," Papyrus recalled.

Undyne turned back to the screen. "That stuff was gross," she said simply. Papyrus kept playing as well. They went on until they finished the level.

"Your turn to pick, man. No RubberRoss levels, or I'll break my controller. Again," Undyne said. The amount of remotes she'd broken playing video games was too high to count at this point.

"Okay. But the doctor... the doctor said that I'd have to have surgery," Papyrus said.

"Well, that ain't so bad. They just give you some weird gas, you fall asleep, and the doctors fix you up. You spend, like, two days in the hospital, and you go home like nothing even happened! Plus, you'll have some cool scars. If... that's how that works with bones. I don't really know," Undyne shrugged.

Papyrus sighed; he was expecting that. "No. It will leave the Great Papyrus with medical braces and crutches. At least, that's what Dr. Wike said," he said.

Undyne's lighthearted grin slid from her face. "Ah, Paps, you'll be fine. Big weenie," she said.

"Are you sure?" Papyrus asked.

Undyne managed to grin once more. "Yeah! I'd give you a noogie if you didn't have a broken arm for being such a wimp," she said.

"I'm not a wimp! Just... temporarily... out of service," Papyrus said.

"Whatever you say, nerd," Undyne shrugged. "Just pick a level already."

XxX

Sans, Toriel, and Frisk had enough sense to not mention Papyrus' medical issue with him around. They all know that he would get better, yes, but they also knew off how hard he was taking it.

Three days after the initial diagnosis, they all wound up in the hospital with Dr. Wike.

"Oh! Papyrus! You brought more friends," she said, a bit surprised.

"My wife Toriel and my niecephew Frisk," Sans clarified.

"Niecephew?" Dr. Wike asked, looking genuinely confused.

"I'm not a boy. I'm not a girl. I'm just a kid!" Frisk explained brightly.

"And I'm the dad-plus-uncle-their Dunkle Sans," Sans added.

"And Papyrus is the brother, and Toriel is the wife. Got it," Dr. Wike said.

"That aside," Toriel intervened, "how long do you believe the procedure will take?"

Dr. Wike tapped at her cheek in thought. "I'm not one-hundred-percent sure, but long enough that you three had best get comfortable in the waiting room," she said.

"Thanks, Doc," Sans said sarcastically, earning him a smack on the shoulder from Toriel.

Papyrus started to look nervous again. Until he got a hug.

"You'll be okay, Papy. I'll see you soon," Frisk said. Papyrus relaxed and gently stroked their hair. "Thank you, human," he said.

"They have a point. You will be fine," Toriel agreed.

"Hey, ah, bro?" Sans asked. Papyrus turned to him, expecting some kind words.

But all he got was, "Just make like a Snowdrake and _chill_ out."

"SANS!" Papyrus snapped, stomping his foot and immediately regretting it. "Owie," he whined.

Dr. Wike sighed. "You all are wild... come along, Papyrus. I believe the operators are ready for you," she said. So, she left with Papyrus.

Sans, Toriel, and Frisk went to the waiting room and sat down. "...what do we do now?" Frisk asked.

Sans sighed. "We wait."

 *****And that's where I have to leave you guys. Osteomalacia is a real thing, even if I didn't spell it right, and that's why I had to science. Anyways, be sure to leave a review on the way out, and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


	4. Chapter 4

*****Hello, everyone! So, this chapter wasn't quite planned and science'd like every previous chapter, this one came as my pencil hit my paper. Anyways, Sans, Papyrus, Toriel, and Frisk belong to Toby Fox, Dr. Wike belongs to me, and let's roll!**

 **Chapter Four: Afterwards**

It felt like a long time, since Sans, Toriel, and Frisk were really just sitting in the waiting room and rambling on whilst trying to bring their minds away from the problem at hand. They did what they could.

"Sans?" Toriel said.

Sans was sitting hunched over in his seat, expression distraught. "Yeah?" he asked, not looking over. Until he felt a gentle paw on his shoulder.

"It's going to be alright. These doctors know what they're doing," Toriel assured.

Sans sighed. "I guess you're right. But something about Paps needing this surgery is really... _brother_ -ing me," he said. After his pun, he gave a half-hearted laugh. But, it fell into a frown of sorts.

Toriel hugged him. "It's going to be alright, dear," she said.

"Yeah! Papyrus is strong," Frisk chimed in.

"I guess you're right," Sans agreed.

It was then that Dr. Wike came to them. "Well, hello, you guys. The surgery's done," she said.

"And how did it go?" Sans asked.

"It went flawlessly. He's still a bit woozy from the anesthesia and medications we gave him for pain, and his legs and arm have got to be hurting from the procedure. But he's recovering quite nicely," Dr. Wike explained.

"Thank God," Sans said. "I was worried about Papyrus," Frisk said. "Can we go visit him?" Toriel asked.

"Yes, if you'll follow me?" Dr. Wike said.

XxX

So, they all four went up to one of the rooms.

"Here we are, but please be quiet," Dr. Wike said as she opened the door. So, they all went inside.

Papyrus was laying out in his bed in a hospital gown. His broken arm was no longer in a cast, but now just wrapped in bandages and propped up on a pillow like the bottom halves of his legs. Stuck into his good hand was an IV that was most likely the pain medication that had been spoken of earlier. He looked a bit spaced out.

"Yo, Paps," Sans said, pulling up a chair by the bedside. Frisk and Toriel walked over there as well.

"Hello," Papyrus said. His voice was uncharacteristically hushed.

"Are you okay?" Frisk asked. Their voice was so childishly innocent.

"It hurts, human. Where they cut me open and stuck the needle into my hand. But... the Great Papyrus will persevere," Papyrus assured. Although his words were confident, his tone was weak. And his visitors realized that.

"Have the doctors seen you yet? Or told you anything about what might be in store you?" Toriel asked.

"Yes. They said that the Great Papyrus will have to be here for a few more days, that it will take some physical therapy after that... that's all I was told about," Papyrus recalled.

"Well, bro, you can rest assured in the fact that I'm gonna be by your side to tickle your _funny bone,_ but otherwise keep your spirits up," Sans said.

Papyrus' eye sockets narrowed. "I could do with less puns," he said.

"Mom? Can we come here after I get out of school?" Frisk asked Toriel.

The goat monster nodded. "Yes, child. We'll be certain to visit every day until Papyrus get out of the hospital," she promised.

Sans grinned at his brother. "See, Paps? We won't leave you alone, even if you want us to," he said.

Papyrus managed a smile. "The Great Papyrus is happy for that," he said.

"Thank you."

 *****Um... please don't take this too hard... and please don't hurt me? Anyways, be sure to leave a review on the way out, and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5

*****Hello, everyone! Guess what? I'm still alive! I just went on vacation/on a school trip over Thanksgiving and was sick the whole time. But I'm here now, and no one needs to get mad at me! Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Alphys belong to Toby Fox, the story plot belongs to me, and let's get right in!**

 **Chapter Five: Falling Apart**

It was a while before Papyrus was let out of the hospital. Toriel couldn't heal him; he was being affected by a disease, and she could only heal injuries.

But, every single day, Sans, Toriel, and Frisk held true to their promises. Sans kept Papyrus company throughout the days, and Frisk and Toriel came by to visit in the afternoons. After all, Frisk went to the same school were Toriel taught, so they were able to meet up afterwards relatively quickly to come over.

When Papyrus was eventually released, he was released with stiff, bent braces on his legs and arm. He was given medication for pain and for the general Osteomalacia. It would ease the effects, but not necessarily take them away.

Papyrus was on his cell phone with so many doctors and physical therapists that he'd eventually gotten a headache and wound up having to pass his phone off to Sans. He was given instruction after instruction on what to do and what not to do.

And he hated it.

XxX

Undyne kicked the door in. "Yo, Paps! I'm here so we can play video games! And Alphie's with me 'cause she said she had to check on your incision-things!" she yelled out.

Sure enough, Alphys was under her arm, a first-aid kit in her hands. "Y-you can put me d-down now," she said meekly. So, she was put on the ground gently.

Sans was the first sight that greeted them. _"Tibia_ honest, yelling ain't necessary," he said.

"Well, where is he, then?" Undyne asked.

"Upstairs. He's locked himself in his room. No _bones_ about it, it's kinda freaking me out. My bro's never acted like this before," Sans explained.

Ignoring the puns, Undyne and Alphys went to the upper level of the house. There was only one door on that hall that was closed-the one to Papyrus' room.

Undyne kicked it in. "Alright, you gotta come out some time, and it's gonna be now!" she decided.

Papyrus was just sitting propped up in his bed, arm and legs on pillows. He used his good arm to work in a puzzle book. Even still, his eye sockets... they just looked dead. "Hi," he said. His voice was uncharacteristically quiet.

"I-I've, um, o-only come to ch-check on your incisions a-and change the b-bandages," Alphys said as she walked over to the bed.

Papyrus hummed and put his puzzle book to the side. He spread out and laid down flat.

Alphys got to work, small hands moving carefully to do the best and most painless check-up she could for her fried.

Undyne, however, had had some things on her mind ever since the encounter downstairs. "Alright. It's like you two have been switched. Sans, I can understand him moping around in bed all day. But you? No. And I get that you're just gotten outta surgery, and-"

"That's the problem."

Undyne stopped mid-sentence at how cold and dead Papyrus' tone was. Alphys even looked up, her hands stopping and mind going away from her task.

"B... beg p-pardon?" Alphys asked.

"I said, that's the problem," Papyrus repeated. But his voice was louder and his tone was now more irritated. And for Papyrus especially, that was never good.

Alphys was almost afraid to continue her check-up on him.

"Ah, dude, if that's the problem, then you'll be-"

"Shut up."

Now, that was a shocker. Papyrus rarely told anyone to shut up, and especially not Undyne.

"Come again?" the fish asked, hoping she'd heard wrong.

"I said, shut up!" Papyrus snapped.

"What's gotten into you? You're gonna get better!" Undyne retorted.

"Well, right now, I'm useless! Both of my legs are injured! My arm is still technically broken! So many doctors have poked me, prodded me, bandaged me, drugged me... everything!" Papyrus cried.

Although Alphys was a bit scared (she never did like yelling), Undyne wasn't about to give up in the slightest.

"Buddy, you can't just mope around and do nothing! You can't just feel _sorry_ for yourself!" she snapped.

"With these handicaps, what am I?! I am no longer as great as I once was!" Papyrus replied at the same volume.

Undyne was almost ready to throw spears. She could hardly keep herself from doing so.

"Listen up! You're not the only one with problems. For the love of God, I've been half-blind for twenty years! If I can live through that, then you can live through a bit of physical therapy and time on crutches! And until you're ready to stop acting like a baby, then I'm leaving! I'll be in the car when you're ready, Alphys."

And with that, she stormed out, slamming the door shut behind her.

Alphys and Papyrus were left silent for several moments, but it felt like an eternity.

"...I-I'm sorry about th-that. I'll, um, s-speak to her l-later," Alphys eventually said.

Papyrus couldn't even look up; he was too caught up in his own thought.

"Please just finish your check-up," was all he could say.

 *****I'm sorry if this was OOC of sorts, but I kinda needed it to be. For the sake of the story. Anyways, be sure to leave a review on the way out, and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


	6. Chapter 6

*****Hello, everyone! So I actually had to restart writing this chapter in my notebook because I wasn't sure as to how to write it at first... thank God for erasers! Anyways, Sans, Papyrus, and Undyne belong to Toby Fox, and let's roll!**

 **Chapter Six: Brotherly Advice**

After his check-up with Alphys, Papyrus was still stuck on what Undyne had said to-well, screamed at him.

He was just doing nothing about this, wasn't he? All he'd done was feel sorry for himself and just hope that someone somewhere could wave a magic wand and change this all back to normal. But he knew that he couldn't quite do that.

So... he needed a bit of advice.

XxX

Sans was watching TV on the couch when he saw Papyrus come into the living room.

"Hey, bro, how'd you get down the stairs? I thought you were supposed to rest," Sans recalled.

"Well, brother, I had to talk to you," Papyrus said. He sat down on the couch next to Sans.

"Alright, tell me what's on your _noodle,_ " the older skeleton said.

"No puns! This is important!" Papyrus snapped.

"Okay, okay. So what's up?" Sans asked.

Papyrus sighed and rubbed at his face. "Well... Undyne just called me out for my recent streak of doing nothing to help myself and wallowing in my own self-pity. And I have no idea as to what to do to fix the fact that her words are still stuck inside of my skull, no matter how I try to get them out. You're smart, albeit lazy. So what should I do in this troubling time?" he asked.

Sans thought about it for several moments, tapping at his cheek bone. At last, he had an idea.

"Bro, I know you're limited on what you can do right now, and it's okay that you're upset. But you can't let that hold ya down! You gotta stay positive. I know those doctors are calling a lot on physical therapy and stuff and it's getting overwhelming, but you gotta grin and bear it," he said. He smiled.

"After all, you are the Great Papyrus."

The younger skeleton let those new words ring in his skull. "I am the Great Papyrus," he echoed quietly. He smiled his old, familiar smile.

"I am the Great Papyrus, and much like the human, I am filled with DETERMINATION to get better!"

Sans patted his shoulder. "Atta boy, Paps."

 *****What, did you really think I was gonna leave Papyrus depressed forever? Even** ** _I'm_** **not that mean. Anyways, be sure to leave a review on the way out and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7

*****Hello, everyone! So... this is probably going to be my last upload before finals next week. But I'll be back, don't worry. This chapter is... it's kinda sucky, but I wasn't really sure of what to do with it, but there are some parts I'm proud of. Sans and Papyrus belong to Toby Fox, Dr. Joann Lynn belongs to me, and let's roll!**

 **Chapter Seven: Physical**

A few days passed since Papyrus set his mind to recovering and thinking more on the bright side. Granted, he still wasn't capable of all that much (what, with an injured arm and both of his legs in the same state), but his effort was an admirable improvement.

He was currently sitting in the car's shotgun seat while Sans was driving him to his first physical therapy session.

"I don't think the doctors will poke and prod ya so much this time, bro," Sans said.

"If you say so, brother," Papyrus said. He did _not_ want to go back to how that felt.

" _Tibia_ honest, I'm pretty sure that the job of these guys is to get you walking without needing any sorta physical assistance," Sans added.

Papyrus nodded; he felt a bit better at that, despite the pun. "Alright. I, the Great Papyrus, will do my very best," he said.

"Good. By doing that, you'll get a real _leg_ up," Sans said.

He earned a glare from Papyrus. "You screw it up. We were having a nice moments and you had to screw it up with another horrible pun," he said.

Sans grinned. "Don't ya mean _boneheaded?_ "

The smack on the back of the skull for that, he found, was totally worth it.

XxX

Dr. Joann Lynn didn't quite expect her next patient to be a monster. "Hello. You must be Papyrus," she said to the tall skeleton who came over to her.

"Yes, that's me. The Great Papyrus. You must be Dr. Lynn, who I spoke to on the phone," he said.

"Yes, that's correct. Now, let's get started, shall we?" Dr. Lynn asked.

XxX

Sans waited patiently until he saw Papyrus limp out of the clinic. He sat down in the car and sighed.

"It didn't go very well?" Sans guessed.

"There was a lot of falling. A lot of failing. A lot of hurting," Papyrus summarized. He looked at his brother. "I just want to get better, Sans. I just want to be... to be..." He couldn't find the end to his sentence.

"...to be great again?" Sans guessed.

Papyrus nodded. "You hit the nail on the head," he said.

"Well, Paps, it ain't gonna come easily. You kinda broke yourself up. And it's gonna hurt, whether you want to accept it or learn it the hard way. But ya can't be like me. You can't be a lazy Sans about this," Sans said.

He didn't even get a smile. "Your point is?" Papyrus asked flatly.

"My point is, this was your first physical therapy session. It's gonna hurt a lot, and you're gonna fall. But what you can do is get back up. After all, I sure ain't gonna get up," Sans said.

Papyrus thought about that. Then, he actually smiled a little bit. "In its own bizarre way, that was... oddly motivational. Thank you," he said.

Sans patted him on the back. "It's what I'm here for, bro," he said.

Then, he started driving.

 *****Sans is the best brother. For anyone asking why I cut out the physical therapy scene and made it what it was, it's because... well, I don't know how it really works beyond what you can guess. And I didn't want to write it out wrong. Anyways, despite how sucky this was (with its good spots here and there), be sure to leave a review on the way out and I'll see you all in the next one! Bye!**


	8. Chapter 8

*****Hello, everyone! So, here we are, the last chapter of this spur-of-the-moment idea. I think the ending turned out... fairly well. Don't judge it too hard. Anyways, Sans, Papyrus, Alphys, Undyne, Toriel, and Frisk belong to Toby Fox, the story plot belongs to me, and let's jump in!**

 **Chapter Eight: Getting Back Up (Final)**

Papyrus stuck to Sans' advice, as strange as it was. It was his motivation to get through. He wanted to get back to where he was before. He wanted to be free of his medical braces, be free of his crutches, and have everything just overwith.

However... success didn't come without effort.

That effort was the physical therapy. It hurt, and was certainly difficult, and there were times when Papyrus just wanted to give up over the weeks that passed. There were times when he wanted to retreat back to his room and give up.

But, he wanted to prove it. He wanted to prove it to Frisk, to Toriel, to Sans, to Undyne... to himself. He wanted to prove that he was the Great Papyrus.

And that the Great Papyrus could do anything.

XxX

Frisk opened the door when the doorbell rang, since Sans was asleep on the couch and Toriel was grading papers upstairs in her room. They got quite a surprise. "Undyne? Alphys? What're you guys doing over here?" they asked.

"Paps sent me a text saying that he wanted us over here, and to stay. That's what he sent me," Undyne explained.

"S-so, where is he, e-exactly?" Alphys asked.

"Dunkle Sans just got back from taking him to physical therapy," Frisk said.

Undyne sighed. "Why would that dork call us over if he wasn't even here?" she asked.

"I dunno. But if he really wanted you to stay, then I guess we can hang out until Sans brings him home," Frisk shrugged.

So, they let Alphys and Undyne in.

XxX

Some time passed. Toriel was eventually informed that two other guests were suddenly in her house, and Sans woke up at some point to go get Papyrus.

That left a goat, a dinosaur, a fish, and a human to their own devices. So, they resolved to passing the time by playing cards, just like they had before Sans had left.

Alphys had only made Undyne swear once to not attack anyone or destroy anything if she got exceptionally angry at someone or something. She agreed reluctantly, which was a good thing.

Eventually, Sans did pop back into the living room. "Yo," he said.

"Hello," Toriel said, smiling warmly.

"Hey, what happened to Papyrus?" Frisk asked. Sure enough, the other skeleton brother wasn't present.

"I'm here, human! My brother just decided to be a bit mean in his method of bringing me home," Papyrus called from the kitchen.

"Just come in here, bro!" Sans called back.

When such happened, Frisk, Toriel, Alphys, and Undyne all had an equal shock.

For Papyrus came in without crutches of braces of any sort.

Sure, there were scars on his bones, but he was fine.

"Papy! You should've said something about this!" Frisk said, going over to hug him.

"Well, Dr. Lynn said that I had healed at a remarkable rate and that I was doing extremely well in physical therapy, so she let me off two weeks earlier than expected! I'm a bit sore, but freedom feels good," Papyrus said, carefully moving each of his limbs.

Toriel glanced over at Sans. "And I'm assuming you were clued in on this as well?" she guessed.

" _Tibia_ honest, I was more surprised than you guys were. We decided to not call ahead and ruin it. Don't wanna be a bee extermination; a _buzzkill_ , that is," Sans said.

"Well, you just killed the moment with that pun!" Papyrus snapped.

Alphys looked him over, standing up to do so. "A-as happy as I a-am that you're out o-of your b-braces, y-you should probably still t-take it e-easy until you fully r-recover," she advised.

"That's what Dr. Lynn said," Papyrus recalled.

Undyne walked over to him. "Paps?" she asked. Papyrus wasn't quite in the mood to get yelled at like she'd yelled at him before. "Yes?" he asked.

Undyne clapped him on the back. "It's good to have you back, man," she said.

Papyrus ginned the way he'd been unable to since he'd fallen down the stairs initially.

"The Great Papyrus is glad to be back.

 **The End**

 *****And that's that. Some parts could be better, some parts could be worse. Overall, this story is done and done. I hope you all enjoyed and I'll see you all in the next one!** Bye!


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